This week while I was in Copenhagen, I paid a long overdue visit to the Menu Space in Nordhavn – a showroom, cafe and office for the brand, all set within a raw, industrial space. Designed by Norm Architects, it’s a place designed with collaboration and openness in mind, so anyone can pop by for a coffee and a peek around. My pictures didn’t turn out very well – I can never photograph in artificial light – but I thought I’d share some of my favourite pieces that caught my eye from their new collection for 2018.
If you’re a fan of Scandinavian design, you must be familiar with Menu right? Collaborating with designers from across the world, they create beautifully crafted objects and solutions for everyday use. ‘We strive to make the world better, less complicated, and more beautiful to wake up to each day,’ they say.
This year, their collection is all about ‘Connected Spaces’. Inspired by the industrial, harbour setting of Nordhavn, these rich images transport you to a warm and inviting, minimal interior, where there’s a play with materiality, between smooth, clean lines and soft textures. A feast for the senses – cosy, cocooning spaces with dark wooden panelling, luxurious marble plinths, tactile touches and warm neutrals.
So let’s look a little closer at the new pieces. Here are some of my favourites…
My moody, minimal wishlist. 1: TR Bulb series, 2: Offset sofa, 3: JWDA lamp, 4: Harbour Chair, 5: Septembre coffee table, Balance candlestick, 6: Cyclades Vase, 7: Plinth podium. Painting Alexa Coe, Partnership Editions, Paint: Slipper Satin, Lamp Room Grey, Salon Drab, all Farrow & Ball
First up, the Harbour chair by Norm Architects. Designed for the Menu Space but equally at home in an office or a domestic setting, the Harbour Chair is a simple and versatile shell chair that comes in various finishes. The armrests neatly curve, while the high back supports the body. What is clever about this chair though is that it can slot under a table, most shell chairs are prevented from doing that by their high armrests.
Also designed by Norm Architects, the Plinth series ties into a trend I’m seeing everywhere for solid, gallery-esque plinths for displaying art and beautiful sculptures. This version comes in richly veined marble and is available in three sizes, whether you want to make a bold statement in the living room with a coffee table, or use it a bedside table in the bedroom.
Above, we also have some new lighting. The pendant in the mood board is not in fact a series of bulbs and separate shades, but a complete LED bulb, which you can attach onto normal fittings as well as Menu’s suspension frames, wall brackets and ceiling lamps. Designed by Tim Rundle, the TR Bulb Series offers a clever solution for ‘urban nomads’ as they move from apartment to apartment, from city to city. The bulb is simply unscrewed like a traditional bulb. The spherical form conceals the lamp fitting and the opal glass diffuser creates an even, soft glow.
On my wishlist is the JWDA Series lamp, a classic Menu design now coming in two new versions – white marble and bronzed brass, as well as a black, powder-coated steel option. Bringing to mind old oil lamps, the JWDA has an organically shaped, frosted shade and dial to easily control the level of light.
New Norm Dinnerware, below, has a dark, moody glaze. The series started life as a commission for the opening of the Copenhagen restaurant Höst in 2012 and has gone on to become a bestseller for Menu. Simple and elegant for everyday as well as a high-end eatery.
You’ll also see Snaregrade tables, originally designed for the living room of Menu founder Bjarne Hansen, but now put into production. They come in four different variants, rectangular, oval and two round versions, for use as a meeting table, kitchen table or desk.
The Cyclades vase, designed by Nick Ross, finds inspiration from the Louvre museum in Paris, particularly the female idols of the Cycladic culture seen there, with its raw and glazed ceramic.
So those are the key pieces to have your eye on, all very versatile no matter what style your home. What’s your favourite?
